


Tea Leaves & Rose Petals

by caesar



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blind Date, F/M, Fluff, Historia Owns A Tea Shop, Mikasa Ackerman & Levi Are Siblings, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 19:29:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17793365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caesar/pseuds/caesar
Summary: Levi is hopelessly in love with the owner of his favorite tea shop. Little does he know, he's about to be set up on a blind date with her.





	Tea Leaves & Rose Petals

“Good morning, Levi! Your usual?”

 

Her voice is bright and warm, welcoming him into Trost Tea Company. The familiar smells of different tea leaves envelop Levi, and he feels at home. His favorite employee is behind the counter, holding up a tin of Earl Grey tea as she awaits his answer. He realizes that he’s staring and quickly nods, managing to say, “Yes, please.”

 

She’s at the shop Sunday through Thursday, present in the morning when he comes through and sometimes in the evening as well. He tries to come through every morning before work when he can while on the way to the police station since he lives a few blocks away; the walk is quick and easy for him. She always welcomes him in with a chipper greeting and confirms his order, which almost never changes. Today her blonde hair is tied back and she’s in a blue dress with her usual white floral apron tied in her front.

 

Levi approaches the counter, taking a seat as she prepares his drink. He has cash ready in his hand as well as his punch card. “Busy so far today?” He asks.He’s embarrassed that he can’t remember her name, and he’s never had the courage to ask again since he forgot.

 

“Not really, which is fine by me,” she answers as she sets the tea steeper on the counter, punching something into a timer. She huffs out a deep breath, looking at her surroundings behind the bar as if ensuring she’s not missing anything before she finally looks up at him, her sky blue eyes bright in the morning sun coming through the windows. “How are you doing today, hon? About to go in the station?”

 

His heart somersaults in his chest under her gaze. “Yeah. I’m doing good,” is all he provides, not trusting his tongue. He decides deflecting is a safer route than talking about himself. “I’m sure you’re ready for the weekend.”

 

“Oh, absolutely!” She moves to wash her hands before preparing his to-go cup. “I—“ she hesitates, glancing up at him as she does so, “I actually have a date this weekend, for Valentine's Day. I’m a little nervous.”

 

This makes Levi’s stomach drop uncomfortably, and he tries to hide his reaction behind his stoic expression. “That’s good. You deserve it,” he tries to sound enthusiastic but he knows it sounds hollow. She gives a tight smile, her head down as she finishes out his tea as the timer goes off. He tries to give her the money but she only takes the punch card, punching out another hole and then handing it back.

 

“This one’s on the house. For the weekend,” she winks at him, and he scoffs in turn, stuffing his bills into the tip jar. She reaches in the jar after it but he’s already up and walking toward the door. “Levi!” She shouts at him, but he only glances back and returns her wink.

 

“Have fun on your date. He’s a lucky man.”

 

She stares at him dumbly as he walks out, and his face burns red with embarrassment that he couldn’t begin to think about saying anything to her until _after_ someone else did.

 

He’s hopeless.

 

* * *

 

After a particularly grueling shift, he’s back home late the next morning. He passes out on his couch still in his clothes from the day before, only to be woken up by his phone ringing around 3 in the afternoon.

 

He groans as he covers his eyes with one arm, the other holding his cell phone to his ear. “What?”

 

“ _You haven’t forgotten about your date, right?_ ” Mikasa chides him from over the line, and he glances at the time on his cable box before answering.

 

“No, how could I forget this blind date that my loving sister is forcing me to go on?” Levi’s voice is dripping with sarcasm and fake enthusiasm. Mikasa scoffs. “What? You’re the one who thinks I’m lonely. Why can’t I just get a cat like every other lonely lady?”

 

“ _Because you’re not a lonely lady, you’re a detective who doesn’t have any other life than a work life._ ”

 

“How about a dog, then?” Levi antagonizes her a little further while he meanders to his room, stretching his back as he pushes his shoulders back.

 

“ _Just don’t ditch, please. She’s a good friend of mine who spent the last few Valentine's Days alone. Her name is Historia. I’ll text you what to look for when she tells me._ ”

 

Levi hums, his mind suddenly starting to work. “Historia?” Where has he heard the name before?

 

“ _Yeah. She went to high school with us._ ”

 

“Great, so she’s a kid.” Mikasa saying “us” means Eren and her, and they’re both 8 years younger than Levi. He grimaces even if Mikasa can’t see it because he knows that she can hear it.

 

“ _Stop it. Just get your ass to Ciccio’s Kitchen on time._ ”

 

“Roger that. Love you,” Levi quipped before promptly hanging up. He tosses his phone on his bed and starts his shower, wondering about what his night has in store.

 

* * *

 

It took Levi _way_ too long to get dressed, but eventually he’s walking to the restaurant with one hand tucked into his pocket, the other holding a single rose. He’s wearing black slacks and a navy blue button up shirt, a simple outfit that Mikasa has said before that brings out his eyes. When he reaches the outside of the restaurant, he pulls out his phone to reread Mikasa’s last text message for the millionth time that evening.

 

_Historia said she’ll be wearing a red dress. She’ll have a book with her. Be good and have fun._

 

Levi takes a deep breath for going inside. When the hostess asks how many, he responds while scanning the tables, “I’m meeting someone. There might be a table under Levi or Historia?”

 

The hostess’ eyes glitter before pointing at a table in the corner. “Miss Historia is sitting at a small table over there.” His eyes follow that line of sight, and he freezes when he spots her.

 

Historia owns Trost Tea Company. _He’s_ the date she’s going out with.

 

He isn’t sure if he wants to call Mikasa and tell her she’s the best sister in the world, or crawl into a hole. He leans toward the latter when he slowly walks over, and she puts down her copy of Pride & Prejudice when he arrives at the table. Her eyes widen significantly, both of them clearly surprised at each other’s presence. “Hi,” he greets her awkwardly. “Historia?”

 

“Levi, I didn’t expect to see you here. I’m here for my...” she trails off as she looks him over, settling on the single rose in his hand. “...date.”

 

“Yeah, about that,” Levi shifts his weight from foot to foot uneasily. “I’m your date, apparently.” He offers the rose out to her, making her cheeks flush an enticing shade of red. She accepts it, spinning it between her slender fingers.

 

Historia meets his gaze again, looking more comfortable suddenly. Almost like she’s relieved. “I can see that.” Levi sits down across the small table from her while she puts the flower under her nose, appreciating the fragrance.

 

“I, uh,” Levi clears his throat awkwardly, feeling the tips of his ears burn. “You look beautiful. You always do, honestly, but still.” Somehow this makes Historia smile brighter than anything Levi has ever seen, and he decides to thank Mikasa later.

 

“You look handsome as always, Levi,” Historia returns the compliment easily. “Have you been here before?”

 

“No. This isn’t usually my...my scene, I guess,” he admits while glancing around, noticing all the red and pink flowers on each table and all the other couples around them. “It’s hard to get out much in my line of work. Have you ordered anything?”

 

“Not yet,” she shakes her head. She fidgets in her seat, toying with the menu. “I don’t really go to fancy places like this, being single and all.”

 

Levi notices how she casts her gaze down at the flower, her shoulders tense as she speaks. He wrestles with his own desire to impress her by sticking it out in this restaurant, but decided against it, going with his gut. “Do you want to get out of here?” he blurts out.

 

His words make her blush deepen, reaching her neck. “Excuse me?”

 

“I know a good diner down the street, if you, you know, want to be somewhere a little more comfortable,” Levi quickly recovers, trying to save himself from himself. Historia looks a little less flustered, breathing a sigh of relief as she nods eagerly.

 

“Yeah, let's go.”

 

They quickly take their leave and make their way down the street to The Garrison Diner, a small 24-hour diner that Levi likes to think of as a second home aside from the police station. He opens the door open for Historia, his hand guiding her by the small of her back. There’s only a few people at the diner, quiet as normal. He tries to remind himself that he’s a gentleman and shouldn’t be ogling her, but when that red dress hugs her curves so perfectly, he can’t help but wonder why she hides such a body in her loose clothing at her tea shop. The waitress nods politely at him when he walks in, giving him a thumbs up when Historia turns around to sit in an empty booth.

 

“This is nice,” Historia remarks, looking significantly more comfortable as Levi sits across her. “Very low-key.”

 

“I kind of live here. It’s my normal place to go after a long shift at work,” Levi tells her nonchalantly as the waitress, Mina, approaches. Levi orders a tea and Historia gets a coffee, earning a scrunched nose from her date.

 

“You don’t like coffee?”

 

“I only drink it when I have to at the station.” He shivers, thinking of Hanji’s terrible coffee on long nights. Historia giggles at his grimace. When Mina returns with their drinks and takes their food orders, Levi is as habitual as ever and orders his usual—two eggs over easy with toast and extra bacon—and Historia gets french toast. “So what would you have done if I was some weirdo?” Levi asks, earning a coy smile from Historia.

 

“Who says you’re not a weirdo?” she retorts.

 

He hides his amusement behind his mug as he sips. “Okay, assume I am. What will you do to get out of this date?”

 

Historia chews on her lower lip, sending blood straight to Levi’s abdomen at the sight, and then she smiles as she answers, “I would go to the bathroom and send an SOS text to my friend, who would call me pretending to have an emergency even though it’s an obvious out. Once I tell her how awful the date was, and how I'm doomed to be alone forever, we would go back to my place and watch The Bachelor and laugh about it.”

 

Levi’s can’t help his grin when he puts two and two together. “Wait. _You’re_ the one who got Mikasa into that terrible show?”

 

“Guilty as charged.”

 

Their date carries on with easy conversation and plenty of playful banter from both parties, both significantly more relaxed than at the beginning of the date. Levi finds himself enamored with Historia, taking in how she’s the loveliest thing in the entire room or how her cheeks tinge pink when she laughs. Historia doesn’t miss how Levi hides his smiles or how he can’t take his eyes off of her, making her feel like she’s the only person in the world to him. Levi pays for the two of them when they finish and he offers to walk her back to her car, and once they’re outside she’s daring enough to take his hand in hers. Their fingers lace together and Levi marvels at how their hands fit perfectly together.

 

When they reach Historia’s car, in the now mostly empty parking lot of the first restaurant, she quickly tosses in her book and rose in her passenger side before leaning against the door, looking up at Levi through her long lashes. “I had a really nice time,” she tells him softly.

 

His heart takes flight within his chest. When he speaks, his voice is as low as hers. “I did too.”

 

Wondering what to do next, he takes a step forward, placing his hands on her waist. He feels her sharp breath in underneath his rough hands, but her gaze doesn’t leave his as she puts her hands on his chest. He notices that when he leans in close, she has to get on her toes to meet him halfway, both of them going in for the kiss.

 

It’s a little awkward because Levi is _painfully_ out of practice, and their noses bump at first, but when their lips meet it’s like fire igniting. They kiss desperately, unleashing all the pent-up desire buried in the both of them for one another. Levi’s grip tightens slightly, and her fingers thread through his hair, surprised at the silky texture. Levi presses Historia against the door to her car, taking all of his self-restraint to not pull up her dress to touch her legs. His self-control is not aided by her pulling him impossibly close, her body flush to his. He puts his arms around her, wishing that he could do so much _more_ than simply kiss her, willing to anything she could ask of him.

 

When they break apart to catch their breath, his pupils are dilated, darkened with lust. Her lips are swollen and she’s blushing, red mixing in with the freckles on her cheeks. “If you come back to my place…” she kisses him again, tenderly this time, “we could watch a cheesy movie or something. Just keep each other company and all.”

 

“Yes,” he nods a little too eagerly, but she smiles anyway.

 

They never get to watch a movie once they’re back at her apartment.

 

* * *

 

 

He decides to thank Mikasa the next morning.

 

**7:06am - Levi:**

_Definitely not a lonely cat lady anymore._

 

**7:07am - Mikasa: _  
_**

_S T O P you weirdo._

_Secretly happy for you guys though. Happy Valentine's Day, nerds._

**Author's Note:**

> just some mindless cutesy bits for all you guys, and a very last minute valentine's day gift!  
> <3<3<3<3<3<3
> 
> much love


End file.
